Friday, November 9, 2012

Who'd A Thought It - Further Explorations with Half-Square Triangles

So I still had some more half-square triangles left over after the last Africa-inspired quilt I made - the beginnings for at least one more quilt, and probably more. I began by sewing them together in 4-patch or nine-patch arrangements. And yes, I can see that the triangles in one of the 9-patches are going in a different direction. That is intentional, and inspired by a photo of an African-American quilt I saw this summer. The idea the quiltmaker had, was to improvise, to make small changes to make thedesign her own, whether by mistake or on purpose. I liked that. Next I bordered the two different-sized blocks with a variety of black and white prints, I find that black and white act as a neutral, and a unifying element in the whole quilt. Then came coloured borders, from leftover strips of a multitude of African fabrics. The width of these strips all varied somewhat, but the end result in all cases was a block that measured either 7 1/2" square or 11 1/2" square. It seems I am only comfortable with a certain amount of improvisation, and then of course, there is the problem of how to fit the blocks together, and keeping them a uniform size seemed as though it would simplify things. The last photo shows you how far I've got in the process of piecing the quilt top together. I'm not sure what size it will end up being, or exactly how I will deal with the uneven edges, but I'm having a lot of fun in the process. Making up the rules as I go seems to suit me (can you tell that I'm a rebel at heart?), and far more
interesting to work on than something which is predetermined from the very beginning. I think I need to be mindful of balancing the colours in the next blocks I add, and perhaps have more blocks without "mistakes" in them, but I like the way it's going. I'd love to hear what you think.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Follow by Email

About Me

I am a textile artist and quiltmaker, a teacher and a writer. I have been playing with fabric for over 30 years, the last 15 of which have been spent creating original work and teaching design-based classes. I have a deep connection with the women of Africa, and since 2007 have spent part of each year teaching sewing and quilting to women in Uganda.